How To Make a Pickup Winder (With a Counter) From Sewing Machine And Calculator
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- In this video, I show you how to use cheap and easily sourced materials like a sewing machine and calculator to build an accurate Pickup winder.
Having a wind counter is very important in producing accurate and repeatable results when winding pickups. This winding system will work just as well as any expensive pre-built machine, and costs only a fraction.
The idea behind the Salvage Sunday series is to show beginners, and those with limited budgets, how to make the specialized tools and machinery necessary for lutherie. These are the methods that I used, and often still use, to acquire the tools that would otherwise be out of reach. My hope with this series is to help people overcome some of these limitations , and more easily pursue this as a hobby or trade.
Wow! These are some clever ideas. I noticed the machine mechanism is functioning. Engage the bobbin winder to disengage the sewing mechanism. It will reduce the load on the motor and reduce noise.
I can't believe I didn't think of that! Thank you for the comment. That would definitely make the whole system run much more smoothly. I was wishing it ran without as much resistance for smoother starting, but it never occurred to me to do that. Thank you again for the tip, the kind words, and for watching!
You said method two. I immediately said "Hall effect sensor? Microswitch with a fin on the spindle hitting it every rotation?" and then you came out with the simplest of solutions: foil and exposed wires.... Technology has ruined a lot of people, sir. I applaud your innocent and honest method.
Thanks for the comment! I tend towards simplicity for things like this, just on the basis of availability. I grew up poor and impatient haha. Often, things weren't available because of price or proximity, and being able to figure out how to get something done "right now" was important.
I want to make sure that people without the means can also find solutions. For example, a friend of mine lives in Cuba where there isn't much of a new electronics market. For him, some of these components would be very difficult to find. But hvac tape and some old wire is easy to get! So my hope is that others in similar situations can benefit from the simplicity, as I have in the past.
Thanks again! Glad you enjoyed the video, and I appreciate your feedback!
So good! It´s easy, cheap and doesn´t ruin the sewing machine. thanks for the tip!
MacGyver Pickups! 😂 brilliant video. Subbed!
When marketing can claim unique patented "Stitch Winding" manufacturing process and set a ridiculous retail price!
Amazing! Now I have to build me one of those. The only thing I would worry about is the wire breaking while winding the pickups. Great video. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for this video man👌. I was searching for solutions like 2 days and this is just what I was looking for a super cheap counting machine...
You're welcome! Glad you found it, and glad it helped! How did the project turn out? I know some calculators have trouble keeping up. Took me a few to find one that worked well. Hope yours did too!
My wife calls me "MacGyver" for all the times I come up with some Yankee Ingenuity type of contraption. But damn man this smokes anything I've ever come up with! You sir earned a subscription here for sure!
Thanks for the great video ,now to find an old sewing machine !
wow! great work, extremely creative and seasoned
Brilliant.
So cool! Pretty sure -1 should work too, so if you wanted, you could set your number of winds and count down.
True. But, of course, you could get to 0 and then proceed to negative numbers. Now, if there was a way to have the machine stop at 0!
thank you! this was exactly what I needed. I have a extra sewing machine already :D
I used your idea with the reed switch and the same Casio SL-310SV calculator and I found that you can compensate with the magnets polarity that hits twice by simply pressing .5 + .5 = 1, or you could also use 2 magnets 180 degrees apart on the spindle with opposite polarities and still press .5 + .5 = 1, and it will register every half turn at .5 and completing a full 360 rotation resulting in 1 full rotation. Using 2 magnets that register as .5 at each half rotation counteracts the (very slight) imbalance on the spindle from having the weight of one magnet on one side (if that makes sense). I think the reed switch is actually a cleaner and more reliable design than using shielding tape to short the bare wires. Your idea is ingenious though.
Glad you got something from the video, and thank you for the kind words! That's a great idea! I didn't consider that option. Definitely something to keep in mind. I had issues with the reed switch floating, but I'm sure a better quality switch would make a big difference.
Smarty pants...Lol! Great fix.
This is GREAT! Genius move man! Best Regards and Best Wishes! Subscribed. Have a good one :)
wow it is like 10 years since i shared a video how to make counter from calculator, i never dreamed it will be world spread idea. did shared it like 5-6 years in group of pickup winders..anyhow cool. SM are great their motor is superb.
Fantastic idea thanks for sharing.
That is very cool. I love upcycling & repurposing stuff. Thanks for the great well produced & informative video
You're welcome! I'm a huge fan of upcycling . A good amount of my belongings are upcycled. Glad you enjoyed the video, and thanks for watching!
@@NautilusGuitars I’ve now bought two older sewing machines to make my own winder.
@@teejay7769 Awesome! Hope you get good use from them! I'm not sure if you saw the pinned comment, but he mentioned engaging the bobbin winder (if possible on your machines), which disengages the sewing mechanism and let's the machine run with much less resistance. This really helps the machine start more smoothly. Just wanted to make sure you had that info, as it's very helpful.
Well I'm impressed. Might I suggest..... If you can.....Use the auto bobbin refill function that your machine already has built in (mod it of course). Meanwhile.....
About 15 years back I used a cheap $20.00 burner phone (did a mod similar to your calculator) and programmed a couple of numbers in it, and connected it to a PIC chip monitoring closed switches. And presto....I knew immediately if someone opened those switches I was monitoring (from anywhere in the world). I also did the same with a cheap Dollar General phone & used it for a programmed land-line connection.
Didn't even consider that until a previous commenter pointed it out. Real "duh" moment there, hence me pinning his comment up top. Definitely a big improvement in function that I mistakenly overlooked.
Very cool stuff with the phones! I've done some similar, though not as involved, things in the past with mobile phones. Wish they were more accessible as a platform for modification and upcycling these days. They could unlock a rich world of repurposing second hand devices. Android allows for a lot of this, Apple makes it impossible. I do foresee a future of upcycled tech like this. Picture Star Wars-esque cobbled together tech. Places with less access to new tech have these communities. Cuba being a great example. There's a lot of wasted potential in used devices!
Very creative and inspiring thanks
Thank you!
Good stuff!
Thanks Tyler!
very interesting!...thanks for the demo
Great job !!!👍👍👍
Brilliant!
Reed switches also break down so 6k turns is 6k ons and offs. Will not take that for too long I would think.
Excellent tutorial! I was wondering if you could put a push button switch just under the sewing needle mount? I guess it would depend on if 1 shaft rotation equaled one vertical sew cycle…
Thank you! I had considered doing that, and I have seen it done, but i figured the long term wear might cause problems. I went this way to make it longer lasting and easier to restore once it is worn. That's definitely a valid solution though! Especially if you use a more durable switch meant for heavy duty cycles. It is one rotation per cycle, so it would work.
it's Jimguyver!
Sure is!
Hi ,thank you for the information, I bought a great vintage sewing machine, and yrying to find an old calculator that will work ,does the the support bar with washers have to spin ,or does the wire just run along it ?
I was wondering, about making your own pickups. Are they better than $20, $50, $100... pickups? The kits and supplies are not very cheap. Is it worthwhile?
In my opinion, yes! The cheaper pickups use lower quality wire and materials, and aren't usually wound with much proficiency. There are a lot of subtle nuances to pickup winding that can have a drastic effect in the end product. Especially in conjunction with one another. Things like the materials, coil shape, design, wire type/gauge, etc all can be controlled for a desired result. Even the way in which they're wound can have an effect. Machine vs hand winding has surprising differences (look into "distributed capacitance" if you want to understand the technical differences). It's all quite fascinating.
Obviously, it's a bit more technical and that all has a learning curve, but for beginners with a steady hand and some patience, there are plenty of outlines for specific types of pickups. Most of which can be made for less than their factory counterparts. And after a few sets, I think most people would start to understand how all these things work together. But I wouldn't expect to make something competing with the tops brands right away, though it's not out of the realm of possibility.
For somebody like me who does repair full-time though, it's a big business booster, as I can produce any results a client might be looking for in a pickup, replicate out-of-production or hard to acquire sets of pickups, or repair irreplaceable vintage sets. It's nice to be able to offer a bit more to my clients in that way!
Sorry for the drawn out response, but I hope that cleared it up a bit for you! Feel free to ask any other questions. I don't mind chatting about this stuff.
it depends were you buy parts etc. after all 99% of pickup winders including super famous are copy paste what fender, Gibson etc did. Today you can find 1st class set of single coils for like 30$-40$ and quality of their parts as well as quality of building is at the level of min 90% of boutique pickups which will cost you 200-300$ of more. Of course you need to know were to search but there are such pickups on amazon, e-bay etc.
If you like to make something for yourselves then yes cool, that simply makes you feel better when you use such pickups or what ever you made. If you think of business then you need to lie to people with nonsense ala ''better materiel, magical wire blah blah blah''.
i know few of them who made a fortune and they make some of their parts but magnets and wire come from Asia, in total materiel for 1 single coil don't cost them more then 3$ no way. But they will say it is special wire ☺, special alnico, special fiber, special way of winding but all they do is randomly move hand left and right..So they sell then easy for 200$ per one. It is not crime to lie in marketing as you all know. Anyhow as DIY if like to make your things sure try it but as business God have mercy on your soul when the dooms day arrive ☺.
why not just go through the test holes...they were already there, no need to scrap soldermask off
I was thinking the same thing....but hard to argue with success. And too "to each his own" as they say.
Several reasons, actually.
1) The test holes are coated with conductive paint. Much easier to remove the solder mask.
2) Less mechanical stress and more surface area. With the wires laid flat, secured with glue, and the solder joint on the same plane, there is less torsion applied to the joint.
3) The contact pads on the opposite side intersect with the test holes. So if I applied too much solder or had wire protruding, I'd have a lot of extra work cleaning it up.
On their own, these things might not warrant the method I used. But taken in aggregate, they justify the different approach, in my opinion.